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ECU College of Nursing Poised to Respond to Changing Health Care Environment

East Carolina University College of Nursing is poised to contribute and grow in response to new health care legislation and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report.

To respond to the IOM key message of allowing nurses to practice to the full extent of their education, Bobby Lowery, PhD(c), MN, FNP-BC, director of the FNP/ANP concentrations, will participate in a discussion on issues and concerns regarding Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. The meeting, sponsored by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, will be in Chicago on April 25, 2012. One of the objectives is to analyze similarities and differences of nurse practitioner roles in each state. As the need for primary care increases, the door is open for nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses to fill these roles.

The College of Nursing’s FNP and ANP concentrations currently receive over 200 applications for 50 available seats. Ideally, part of our response to health care legislation and the Institute of Medicine report will be to increase the capacity of these curriculum options and develop other advanced practice areas of study such as the doctor of nursing practice and psyc/mental health nurse practitioner.